Equity’s Darling

Herself: If a man took a woman’s vase by accident and then he gave it to a shop who sold it to another woman; who would own the vase, the first woman or the woman who bought it?
Mr. Waffle: Excellent question for a first year law paper.
Me: The first woman would continue to be the rightful owner of the vase but the other people could sue for damages, I suppose.
Mr. Waffle: Ah but the purchaser is equity’s darling.
Her: What’s equity?
Mr. Waffle: Well, these courts began with petitions to the Lord Chancellor of England. They ran in parallel to the common law courts and they were supposed to be fairer to hard cases.
Her: Like OJ Simpson?
Him: No, more like Joe Duffy.